


Scarlet

by FPwoper



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairy Tales, M/M, Pining, Tumblr: deancas-sweetheart, Witches, they will be okay, this is no valentine fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9719765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FPwoper/pseuds/FPwoper
Summary: Castiel finds Dean in coma in a hospital. Will he be able to save his love.Written for the deancas-sweetheart challenge.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from the song Scarlet by Delain. I love it. Sadly there's no good version on YouTube.

 

“Like a flower grows unintentionally towards the sun

I grow towards the one that hurts me most”

~ _Scarlet_ , Delain

 

**Scarlet**

 

Castiel took a deep breath before entering the hospital room. He’d had time to steel himself but still. The doctors told him not to expect too much. The only thing Dean was still doing himself was keep his heart beating and his blood flowing. He didn’t breathe, couldn’t eat. How he’d gotten there, the doctors couldn’t tell – Dean had just shown up in the emergency room and collapsed there, cut and bruised and not breathing anymore.

 

The fact that Castiel had that knowledge didn’t mean that he wasn’t shocked. Seeing Dean lying there, so still, all wrapped up in bandages and being kept alive by tubes…  it did things to Castiel. It made him wish that he was still an angel, and that he could heal Dean, and that he didn’t _feel_ for the stupid man.

 

Castiel stepped into the room, and tried to keep himself together. Being human was hard enough, but it _hurt_ to care for the man. Especially when said man was being stupid and got hurt during a hunt. Castiel sank down into the chair next to Dean’s bed, and took Dean’s hand in his own. He had never noticed before how Dean’s hands were still pretty even though there were scars all over them. Castiel took a deep breath and tried to relax. At least he had found Dean – not like the last time this happened when he had only been able to locate Dean after a few weeks. It hadn’t been this bad, but it had been bad nonetheless, and Castiel really didn’t want a repeat performance of those weeks.

 

***

 

_Dean knew he wasn’t alone the moment he entered the house. He knew it had been stupid to go in alone, but he couldn’t afford to wait for Cas or Sam, he needed to kill this witch now. She had already done too much damage – even though it had been minor at times, and at all times related to fairy tales somehow. It annoyed Dean that apparently Sam hadn’t had any time in all of his research to read most of Grimm’s fairy tales, and that he had absolutely neglected all of the foreign (non-European) fairy tales, which made the whole ordeal a whole lot more interesting, and it was also the reason why they hadn’t caught the witch yet._

_Dean had found out about her MO, and that quickly led him to her lair. She actually had a lair: a small, dark shack somewhere in the forests. As soon as he walked in, however, he knew that it was all wrong. The witch was actually waiting for him, and she didn’t look threatened or angry, or even arrogant (which was what most witches did?). She was just waiting for him, seated behind her small kitchen table._

_“Dean Winchester,” she said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”_

_Dean furrowed his brows, and wanted to reply when the witch continued talking. “Oh, I know. You are here to kill me.” She huffed. “How original. So many people have tried that before. I could tell you about that one time when that witch Rowena tried to kill me, if you want?”_

_“Rowena?” Dean asked, finally able to get one word in. He didn’t understand what exactly was happening. The witch had obviously been expecting him, but the way she treated him was not what he had expected of her._

_“Yes, Rowena,” she said. “A mutual acquaintance, I take it?” Dean just nodded, and the witch smiled. “Of course you know her. She’s that demon’s mother, isn’t she?”_

_The woman finally got up, and moved around the table to stand in front of Dean. “And you are wondering what I want of you. Of course. Well, let me lay down my evil plans for you to see, and then you’ll know that you won’t have to kill me…”_

 

***

 

Castiel woke up with a crick in his neck and he didn’t feel okay in general. He felt disoriented for a second before he recognised where he was. He felt his dark thoughts settle again once he looked up to see Dean still unmoving and hooked into all those machines. Castiel felt hopeless for the first time in a long while.

 

If only he knew how he had gotten here, and if there was something that he could do. Dean had been perfectly healthy when they had last seen each other, and it felt _off_ to see Dean so very weak right now. Castiel swallowed, and rubbed a hand over the sore spots in his neck and shoulders. He wasn’t made to rest like that, but he couldn’t leave Dean alone now that he’d found him. Luckily Dean had put down Castiel as his emergency contact next to Sam, so there were not a lot of questions asked when Castiel barged in, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be kicked out of the hospital if he overstayed his welcome.

 

Castiel slowly sat up, stretching, and then finally got himself to move around. He’d have to call Sam about Dean being in the hospital. He had to do so many things, but he simply didn’t want to do them. He wanted to stay with Dean. He wanted to be able to tell Dean about his feelings.

 

Which he could still do, even though Dean wasn’t awake to hear them. The nurse who had come by earlier today had told him to talk to Dean, that it might help trigger something to have him wake up, but it simply didn’t feel the same. He did have to try it, though, so he considered where to start, and took a deep breath.

 

***

 

_In the end, it probably didn’t even matter what the witch was going to tell him. Dean was always going to go in guns blazing, and he didn’t care for her evil plans. She had some different ideas, though, so they actually sat down while the witch brewed tea for the both of them. She told him about how she started out, and how she was still considered a white witch and would never intentionally hurt anyone. She actively tried to prevent hurt, and her fairy tales had helped people understand what they were meant to do in certain situations. Every single person who had been enchanted by her had thanked her in the end, however painful the experience might have been. She told him about how several monsters had been ganging up on the Winchesters as a whole, and how she had kept them off their backs by pulling them here. She had protected them. She lamented how they repaid her._

_Dean didn’t care. He really didn’t care for this woman, but she was a captivating storyteller who didn’t take no for an answer, and Dean didn’t want to stop her at all. She was about to reveal what was happening, and maybe it would be in Dean’s advantage to listen to her._

_“So you know, all the monsters you hunted in the past few months have all been set up, basically. They were meant for you to take them down, and you were meant to come up here and try to defeat me,” the witch explained. “It’s all part of a bigger plan which I am not going to reveal to you. However, I will tell you that it has something to do with that angel of yours. Man, no one can stand all of that…-” she stopped, trying to find the right word “-_ tension _between the two of you. It’s the worst. It needs to be solved.”_

_“What do you mean?” Dean asked. He was sipping the tea the witch had given him, and was actually enjoying the heat of the drink. “What tension?” He felt drowsiness set in already, which was weird. Hot drinks tended to make him more aware of his surroundings, not less._

_The witch chuckled. “The fact that you don’t know says a lot about that tension. You’ll know soon enough. You know fairy tales are my MO so it won’t be hard to figure out once you know about Prince Charming…”_

_Dean blinked, and tried to clear his sight, but it didn’t work. “W-what?”_

_“I’ll help you get to the hospital, dear,” the woman said, and it was the last thing Dean heard before he passed out and couldn’t see or hear anything._

***

 

When Castiel finished his monologue – which was strange because he always imagined that he’d be telling Dean about his love for him face to face rather than face to unconscious face. It was slightly painful but at the same time Castiel felt a lot better. Nothing happened, though, and Castiel slowly lost faith the following days. He couldn’t reach Sam, and though Dean wasn’t getting worse, he also wasn’t improving. It felt like a stalemate, and Castiel hated stalemates.

 

The nurses had grown accustomed to Castiel’s presence on the ward, and jokingly (or not so jokingly) referred to him as Dean’s husband. Castiel didn’t know who started it, but the nurses often told him that they looked good together, and that it was such a pity that their love was so rudely interrupted. Castiel just smiled as well as he could but deep inside he felt like crying. He didn’t want to lose Dean at all.

 

One day, one of the nurses suggested that Castiel kiss his husband to stimulate the man to wake up. _It might help him wake up_ was what she said.

 

“Like in Sleeping Beauty?” Castiel asked, and snorted. He was about to dismiss the idea as ridiculous when it hit him: they had dealt with witches before, and lately, they all seemed to target Dean and Castiel. Castiel knew about his feelings but he didn’t know if Dean had realised as well. Maybe… maybe it would help somehow. Maybe Dean was cursed, and maybe it was true love’s first kiss that would wake him up from his coma. It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?

 

So Castiel waited until the nurses were all gone, and licked his lips. It felt weird somehow, preparing to kiss the love of his life while said love wasn’t even awake. Castiel didn’t want his and Dean’s first kiss to be one that Dean wouldn’t be actively participating in. But still, he had to try it. So he wet his lips again, and leaned forward, over Dean’s face.

 

It wasn’t like he hadn’t imagined this moment before – in fact, he had imagined it several billions of times already – but it felt off when Castiel finally pressed his lips against Dean’s, in a gesture that was supposedly romantic. Nothing really happened, though, and Castiel fell forward, resting his head on Dean’s chest in defeat. Maybe he should leave and go do research, try to call Sam... solve the case. Everything, anything would be better than just being there while Dena was in a coma.

 

Castiel lifted his head to the ceiling again, cursing his Father for being such an unforgiving bastard, and swallowed back the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. He didn’t want to live if he couldn’t have Dean by his side again, it hurt too much. Taking a deep breath and mentally steeling himself, he stood up from the chair he’d been sitting in all that time, and slowly left the room with only one last look at Dean. _It is what it is_ , he thought, and apparently it wasn’t what Castiel had wanted it to be.

 

***

 

Castiel wasn’t there when Dean woke, and that was the worst part of it all. Dean kind of expected Castiel to be there. The witch had made pretty clear that Castiel had something to do with the spell, and he thought that Castiel would be able to figure it out, and help him get back to life. Sadly, the only person there when Dean woke again was a nurse. Which was weird. Dean really couldn’t remember going to a hospital, and he couldn’t remember being admitted. He blinked, and the nurse shrieked when she saw. Which was also weird. Hadn’t he just been awake?

 

Before he could blink, there was a doctor in his room, ready to examine him again. The nurse was leaving, a phone in her hands, and by the looks of it, she was already dialling a number she knew pretty well by now. The doctor asked him some questions, and it was clear that Dean had been out longer than he’d originally thought. He’d been in a coma for about a week.

 

“But your husband has been here until an hour ago,” the doctor added, his voice light and airy like it was all good news. “He’s been here the entire time.”

 

“My husband?” Dean asked, question clear in his voice. It had to be either Sam or Cas who had pretended to be his husband to be admitted into his room even though no one else had had access.

 

“Yes. I think Castiel came in about a few hours after you were admitted, and, like I said, he only left about an hour ago. He must have had urgent business.”

 

“Can you call him?” Dean asked, suddenly nervous. He was starting to understand what happened, and it made him antsy. Of course the witch had drugged him, and the drug must have been pretty strong to knock him out that easily.

 

“Mandy is already on it. Castiel left without leaving any reason as to why, so we’ll just try to reach him as soon as possible.” The doctor put on his best reassuring face, and continued. “For now you are cleared, though. You don’t seem to have any kind of brain damage, and underneath the bandages you are probably healed up pretty much, so we’ll get those removed first thing in the morning, but now I’d actually like you to try and go to sleep to establish a sleeping schedule again.”

 

“That might be hard,” Dean said softly. “I’m not really used to sleeping that much, and now that I’ve only just woken up, I don’t think I can just fall asleep again.”

 

“Try, though,” the doctor answered with a soft smile on his face. “If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, but at least try. We’ll contact your husband, and we’ll try to get him here as soon as possible. If everything looks alright in the morning, we might release you already.”

 

***

 

Castiel actually answered the call that would turn his life around about an hour after Dean had woken.

 

“This is Castiel?” Castiel said, his voice rough. He was wary – he didn’t know the caller, it could be anyone – but he felt the need to answer regardless.

 

“Castiel, it’s Mandy, the nurse from the hospital!” a voice too happy for the time of night answered. “I have great news for you! Your husband just woke up from his coma, could you come in?”

 

“I-I,” Castiel couldn’t do anything but stammer, and in the end, the voice on the line sighed.

 

“I guess this is hard for you too, after just having left, but he’s been asking for you, and it would probably be best if you are there when he wakes in the morning. His doctor just told me that he will probably be released in the morning, so you can come and pick him up.”

 

“O-okay,” Castiel managed. “I’ll come back as soon as I can, then. I don’t know when that will be but I will be there in the morning, that’s no problem at all.”

 

“Okay! I’ll inform the doctor, and then he’ll know that you’re going to be there. Bye!”

 

Before Castiel could end the call, Mandy had already hung up. He sighed before pocketing the phone again, and looked around himself. He’d managed to walk into a forest and get himself lost, so he needed to find his way back and take a shower before going back to the hospital to pick Dean up. Castiel knew he should feel happy, but instead he was conflicted – was it his kiss that woke Dean, or was it something else? And did Dean even remember anything at all?

 

The questions kept Castiel busy until he gets to the hospital around 4 am. He didn’t intend to arrive that early (or late), but it just… happened. He wanted to be near Dean, so he went. And the shower kind of didn’t happen, so he still looked like he cried for hours in a bush but that was close to what he did so he figured he was still okay.

 

By the time he arrived in Dean’s room, a few nurses had already talked to him about the miracle that was his husband waking up from his coma, but Castiel brushed them off. He just wanted to see Dean now, and a few nurses who were apparently enamoured with his supposed love story would not deter him from this goal.

 

Dean was asleep, and Castiel was unsure if he was glad or slightly sad that he wasn’t greeted by Dean. Instead, he chose to take his usual seat again, and just to focus on Dean’s moving chest. Within moments, he was drifting off into sleep himself.

 

***

 

Castiel woke early again, just a few minutes before the doctor was scheduled to arrive and perform Dean’s hopefully final check-up. The man was still asleep, and Castiel smiled as he took in the peaceful form of the man he loved. He noticed that Dean was starting to wake, too, and swallowed nervously. He still didn’t know what to expect, and he always expected the worst.

 

Castiel averted his eyes, and stared out of the window pretending he’d been watching that for a long time now. He knew exactly when Dean awoke – his observation skills as an angel had served him well like that.

 

“Hi sweetheart, good morning,” Dean rasped as soon as he opened his eyes and registered that it was Castiel sitting next to him. Castiel smiled at that, but he felt the need to hide it. Only when he thought he was neutral again did he turn towards Dean.

 

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel answered neutrally. “How are you feeling?”

 

Dean’s face fell slightly, and Castiel immediately felt guilt creeping in.

 

“Like I was hit by a spell a witch cast on me because she wants the two of us to be together,” Dean said, his voice completely deadpan. Castiel licked his lips at Dean’s words. He didn’t know if Dean was serious or not, but somehow this moment felt important.

 

“Was that why you were in coma?” Castiel asked seriously. He wanted it to be true so badly, but at the same time he was unsure of how to react to that.

 

“Probably,” Dean shrugged. “Even though I really don’t know how I’ve woken up again. I kind of felt like I was supposed to be in a coma for about a hundred years before I was saved.”

 

Castiel knew he was blushing because he felt hot all over, and Dean eyed him suspiciously. He had to cover it up somehow. “Uh… so you were hunting a witch?” he asked.

 

Dean nodded. “Yeah, but it turned out that she was actually kind of hunting me, so when I got to her lair, she was there waiting for me, and she did the whole monologue thing but she was… friendly. She gave me tea. Which I drank. After that I don’t really remember a lot. How come you don’t know about this yet?”

 

“I couldn’t get Sam on the phone,” Castiel answered honestly. “I tried, I really did, but… there seemed to be something blocking my calls. I was trying to find out if you were cursed or if this coma was something natural, but… I just couldn’t get through. So what was her angle, then?”

 

“Fairy tales,” Dean answered curtly. He inclined his head towards the door, and Castiel shut up promptly, knowing exactly what Dean meant. The doctor really could do without this whole hunting thing, and he had just walked in.

 

“Ah, Castiel,” he said. “Nice of you to join us again. We’ll be taking off the dressings today, and then I’ll do a final check. If everything is in order, you can take your husband back home again. You do need to be careful with him for a few weeks, though. You don’t want to aggravate any of his wounds.”

 

Dean huffed, and Castiel felt himself colour an even deeper shade of red. “Of course, sir,” he mumbled.

 

***

 

Turned out nothing was wrong with Dean anymore, so Dean and Castiel were back in Castiel’s car by the end of the morning. When Castiel wanted to start the car to drive away, Dean stopped him though.

 

“What is bothering you, Cas?” Dean asked, and Castiel sighed. He knew that Dean wasn’t as emotionally constipated as most people thought, but it was annoying when he used it on him.

 

“I… I’m just still stuck on that witch,” Castiel answered, as honest as he could be. “I haven’t really figured it out yet. How you were woken, you know.” A lie. And by the look on Dean’s face, Dean knew it.

 

“Well…” Dean dragged the word out as long as he could. “She _did_ love her some fairy tales, so it might have something to do with, oh…” Dean pretended to think for a few seconds, and Castiel knew that the man was hyper-focused on him right now. “Maybe with a fairy tale? Like… Sleeping Beauty.”

 

Castiel swallowed nervously. He didn’t even know anymore why he didn’t want Dean to know, and he definitely didn’t know why he thought he had to lie about him kissing Dean awake.

 

Dean licked his lips, and leaned in closer to Castiel. “You know what’s a common motive in fairy tales, sweetheart?” Dean whispered, breath ghosting over Castiel’s lips. Castiel could only stare at Dean’s lips, and his closeness, and he couldn’t do anything else. After a few seconds of silence in which the air felt electrically charged Dean answered his own question. “True love’s first kiss. And I’ll bet you that if I kiss you right now, it won’t count as our first kiss.”

 

Castiel’s breath came short, and his heart was beating overtime. He needed to make this better. “You’re right,” he breathed. “It won’t be. But it will be the first one for which both of us are actually conscious.”

 

Dean chuckled, and drew back. “That’s true. I kind of don’t want our first kiss to be in this shitty car.”

 

Castiel gasped loudly. “You dare insult my car?” he said, pretending to be shocked. “What has she ever done wrong?”

 

Dean laughed full out now, and leaned closer to Castiel again. “Well, our actual first kiss was in a hospital, so maybe your car isn’t that bad after all.”

 

“Just shut up and kiss me, Dean,” Castiel whispered, and that was exactly what they did.

 

 

 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [Tumblr](http://fpwoper.tumblr.com/). Come and say hi.


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